


perfect places

by ben76



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Trans Character, Trans Genji Shimada, is this fluff?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-11
Updated: 2017-06-11
Packaged: 2018-11-12 23:23:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11172252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ben76/pseuds/ben76
Summary: I started writing this after listening to Lorde's "perfect places", hence the name. A little sweet one shot thing of trans teen Genji meeting McCree while sneaking out for a night. What follows is a whole lot of sweet nothing :)





	perfect places

Genji never felt more like himself than when he snuck out his bedroom window in jeans and his favorite jacket, his chest binded away from sight, and hopped the bus into the city. He used his fake ID to get into a gay bar and would spend the night basking in the energy of everyone just assuming he was a guy, no questions asked.

That’s where he met the stranger. He was clearly too young to be there as well, and was smashed drunk. Genji was surprised the bartender would let him get so drunk, and not kick him out. But, Genji thought he was kind of cute and he had this dumb cowboy hat on so when he drunkenly bumped into him, Genji didn’t protest. Instead he led him outside for the fresh air.

“Who are you, stranger?” he slurred.

“Just someone who’s saving your butt,” Genji said, “any second longer you’d probably be kicked out.”

The guy laughed, “yeah, right. Business is business, isn’t it?”

Genji shook his head and laughed incredulously, “aren’t you a bit young for this kind of thing?”

“Who, me? What about you,” he said. He was now fully leaning on him as they sat on the curb and he smelled so strongly of alcohol and musk, but it didn’t smell bad. Can you get drunk off of alcohol fumes? Because Genji was starting to question his own sobriety

“I’m not drinking,” he said.

The guy shook his head in an exaggerated nod that said he didn’t really believe Genji, or that he was so drunk he thought he was nodding normally.  They were silent for a moment until he finally said, “so what’s the plan for the rest of the night, my knight in shining armor.”

Genji laughed, and felt himself go warm inside to the sound of this stranger calling him a knight. He checked his phone for the time, normally he’d be catching a bus back home in ten minutes but he didn’t want to go home quite yet. What were his plans?

“Why don’t we go get some coffee and sober you up?” Genji said, starting to stand up. The guy held onto him heavily, causing him to stumble a bit.

“And why would we go and do that?” he laughed, but he didn’t argue when Genji started to lead them down the street. Genji didn’t really know much of this part of town, one of the reasons he chose to go there.

The guy talked the whole way there, a bunch of nothing. He would point out shopfronts and tell of a time he went there, or who he knew there, or tell some joke that he found very funny. Genji was barely listening, just basking in the presence of a stranger who had no idea who he was.

When they finally passed an open diner, he dragged them in much to the strangers protests. They sat down and a tired looking waitress took their order, two coffees and a burger for the stranger. When she stepped away Genji was forced to face the situation he had found himself in. Sitting across from a stranger, an hour away from his house, waiting for coffee to sober up the said stranger who was now apparently sleeping?

“Hey,” Genji said, reaching over and tugging on the guy’s hair.

“Woah!,” the guy started, looking around confused for a second before settling on Genji with a lazy grin that was... ridiculously cute.

“Oh, hey there, stranger,” he said, “you come here often?” 

He leaned on the table flirtatiously. Genji shook his head, laughing a bit. Way to make the whole situation even more comical.

“Shut up,” he said just as the waitress came back with their coffees. The stranger looked at the coffee with slight disdain, but took a sip of his anyway. He grimaced.

“Tastes like dirt,” he said.

Genji laughed and took a sip of his. It did taste like dirt. He normally preferred tea, and the strong taste of coffee felt harsh in his mouth but he pretended not to mind it. 

“So, you wanna tell me your name or would that ruin the magic?” the stranger said, appearing to gain some of his mind back from the alcohol.

“I don’t know, would it?” Genji asked, trying his hand at flirting.

The stranger grinned, “maybe we’ll save it for later. What’s someone like you doing at a club all alone, anyway?”

He shrugged, “I don’t know. What about you?”

“Oh, trust me, it’s not odd for me to be out here alone,” he said, “there’s not many people out there that wanna spend time with a guy like me.”

“Why’s that?” Genji asked.

“Hm... maybe I’ll save that for later as well, darling,” he said, “But let’s just say... Not the greatest company.”

Now Genji was curious. He watched the guy closely as he drank more of his coffee, downing the rest of it with one go. The waitress came back with the burger and a refill of coffee, the stranger thanked her with overly done kindness. 

“I guess we both got some secrets then, huh?” he said finally.

Genji laughed, “Maybe so.”

“You know, if I eat this thing it’ll be back out in a minute,” the guy said, pushing the plate away in disgust.

“Good idea,” Genji said.

The stranger leaned back in the booth and stared at him curiously, “you seem too good to be out here like this. You single?”

Genji laughed, “very forward of you.”

“Just curious, is all,” he said, “so, do you?”

“None of your business,” Genji said.

“Very unforward of you,” he said, “not that it matters anyway.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Genji asked.

“I don’t know you, kid, but I have a feeling that you’ll be waking up tomorrow in another world and already forgetting all about tonight,” he said.

Genji was silent, looking down at his coffee, barely two sips taken out of it. He didn’t want that to be true, he had never felt more himself than he did sitting there in that diner across from this stranger in a cowboy hat. 

“Let’s go somewhere,” He said.

The stranger laughed, “where do you wanna go, knight?”

“Anywhere,” Genji said.

He grinned, “you’re crazy. I like it.”

The stranger drank the rest of his coffee and after paying their bill, they left the cafe out onto the dark streets. For the first time that night, Genji was starting to doubt the entire thing. Maybe he should just catch the first bus back and do what he said earlier, forget about the whole thing. Because, that’s what would have to happen in the end anyway. 

Tomorrow he’d wake up to his regular life, to being the daughter of the most valuable family in the county. Back to hell basically. 

He decided then that was gonna milk everything he could get out of tonight. So, he started walking and the stranger followed and they talked, about nothing really. About food, music, coffee, anything of no real value. They found their way to a park with a playground and the stranger climbed onto the monkey bars and dared him to follow. It wasn’t really much of a dare, it wasn’t hard.

They sat up there for what felt like not long enough, just talking. Neither of them giving much out of their personal life, but enough to get to know each other. The conversation felt comfortable, like being home. Genji had never felt so comfortable with anyone, not even his own brother.

“Aw, shucks,” the stranger said suddenly.

“What?” Genji asked.

“I’m starting to really like you, stranger,” he said wistfully, swinging his legs back and forth and watching them, not him.

Genji was silent because, despite how stupid the whole thing was, he was too.

“It’s stupid,” the stranger said, “I don’t even know your name.”

“Genji,” he said.

The stranger looked at him, a slow smile breaking out, “Jesse. McCree.”

Jesse.

“You know, this doesn’t have to be it,” Genji said, “we could meet up again.”

“Nah,” Jesse said, “I gotta go. Being moved.”

Jesse was silent for a moment, biting his lip. “I’m a foster kid, I guess. Only one a few more months before I’m alone, I guess. Doesn’t matter, they’re still moving me. Guess I’m too much of a hassle, even for just a few months.”

“Where are you going?” Genji asked.

“Five hours from here, practically out of state,” he said, “doesn’t matter.”

“That’s stupid,” Genji said.

“Right?” He said, “So stupid.”

They were silent. Genji was thinking about how obvious this whole situation was. Of course this wasn’t gonna be something. Of course the perfect stranger was leaving. Of course. Of course. Of course.

“Stupid,” Jesse said again.

Genji bit the bullet and did something stupid, cheesy, and reached out to grab Jesse’s hand and said, “I know it means nothing but... I’m not gonna forget about tonight. Probably never.”

“That’s stupid,” Jesse said, but his eyes that were holding Genji’s said differently. 

Genji nodded and they at there, holding hands, silently, for what felt like an eternity.

“Now this is sad,” Jesse said, “which is stupid.”

They were silent for another good moment until Jesse starting laughing, just a small chuckle. It was absurd, to be honest. So much so that Genji started to laugh along and they sat there on those monkey bars laughing their heads off like a bunch of idiots. 

Finally, they caught their breaths and sat there, smiling at eachother, like a couple of smitten idiots. 

“It feels like we’ve been out here for a week now,” Genji said.

Jesse nodded, not taking his eyes off of Genji’s. “I know I don’t know you, really, and maybe, uh, this is a bit much but I really wanna kiss you right now.”

“Okay,” Genji said, but he didn’t mean anything by that..

“So?” Jesse asked.

“Nothing,” he said, waiting for Jesse to make the jump. They were whispering now, their breaths intermingling. 

“Can I?” Jesse asked finally.

“I’ve been waiting,” he said with a smirk.

He wouldn’t describe how he felt when they finally kissed as fireworks, more like slipping into a hot tub after a long day at work. It felt like someone had lit a fire under the two of them and, at the moment of the kiss, it flared up and encapsulated them in it’s heat.

And then the bright, ugly light of a flashlight being pointed right at them interrupted the delicious moment. Security guards.

Apparently there was a curfew at the park, and they had to leave. Jesse apologised profusely and they climbed off the monkey bars and the security guard escorted them from the park. When they were alone again, on the street outside of the park, they stood there awkwardly. Genji tried to ignore the sunlight peaking on the horizon, the signal telling him he should probably get back home. Who even knew when the next bus would be. He probably wouldn’t make it home in time to not be missed.

“I guess you gotta be getting back, huh?” Jesse asked, looking at the sun.

“Probably, they’ll probably notice I’m missing soon,” he said, but he didn’t make a move to leave.  
“Well, I’ll miss you, Genji,” Jesse said, still looking at the horizon.

It seemed odd to make polite goodbyes after everything that night, it didn’t feel right. It felt like something tragic and exciting should happen to tear them apart, not just Genji stepping on a bus with nothing but polite farewells.

But here they were.

“Me too,” Genji said.

He never really did forget that night either. Not when he got home that morning to stern words from his family, and not the next night when he snuck out again with secret hopes of seeing the stranger again.

He still remembered it years later when he saw a familiar face in his local grocery store, a familiar face who had clearly remembered it as well.

 

The end.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!


End file.
